Future Past
by mackiechandler
Summary: This is what I hope it was like for the Ponds after Angels
1. Chapter 1

Future Past

She had floated in space above planets of the future, she had died, she had been chased by all sorts of monsters, including the FBI, she had seen her precious baby disappear in her arms, but the worst day, the hardest day, was leaving the Doctor and her Daughter to go off in time and hope that she would land by Rory. She knew she'd never see the Doctor or her River, her baby Melody again, and it made her heart bleed, but to never see Rory again was to never again breathe.

So she opened her eyes to gaze at that beastly angel that would destroy all that was. Now to take that terrible leap, not knowing where she was going.

She could still feel River's kiss of love on her hand, the doctor's warm hand on her shoulder when it all disappeared.

For just a moment, she closed her eyes and vowed to search for Rory, her Rory as long as he waited for her and protected her.

It was cold and dark, and she stood there, hating everything that had stolen her life, but Amy had a husband to find so she opened her eyes. She heard the familiar cadence of traffic in the distance and knew the sense of the City called New York. She was in an alley. She turned and looked about. "RORY!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. There was no answer.

A newspaper blew by her feet, the Times, and she stomped on it long enough to know it was October 31, 1939.

She turned and saw the alley led into a hill and she walked quickly to it. She realized after a moment that it wasn't a park, but a small cemetery. And there she saw something that made her grasp hope, the only statue of an angel had been desecrated, pounded till only one wing remained. Someone had been pretty damn angry, and she could feel the satisfaction of every blow and wished she had beaten the blighter up at the same time.

She stared at it, the snow falling gently and coating her eyelashes. "Dreadful thing, that," said a voice behind her, "Man that did it went to jail, and they think he was crazy because he called it a murderer."

A trail, a trail she would follow forever.

"Could you tell me where that jail is?" she asked.

"Oh Miss, you don't want to go to that rough place,"

She turned and looked at the older rather weather-beaten man.

"I must," she begged, "Please."

Some measure of her desperation must have moved him, because he nodded rather sadly, and gestured her to follow. It grew colder and colder and she wondered what they would think of her in jeans, probably make her out to be a farm girl.

"Has it been hard for you?" she asked as she eyed the streets and the fact that everyone looked down and out – oh Yes, the Great Depression. Well, if she didn't find her Rory, there would be an even worse depression.

"Oh yes, my dear, but God has provided for my needs. I work for the church, and many a good soul has saved a bite for an old man." There was a bit of a pause.

"You aren't from the City, are you?"

"No sir," she muttered, even a nutter would notice the accent.

"Be careful, my dear," the old man said gently, "the big city can be harsh; it's not like life on the farm."

And in the midst of her pain, she smiled just a bit that her clothing made her look like a farm girl and that someone was being kind, very kind. She knew another old man who was kind as well.

The disreputable looking building that housed the jail didn't look friendly, but she would walk into a dragon's open maw for her Rory. The place was dirty and so was the copper, er, sheriff or whatever he was with the badge.

"This young lady would like to see the man that damaged the angel, Mr. Cooper," said her old man.

The man's bored eyes flicked over Amy and she immediately found herself making little angry fists. She knew his type.

"Well, well, well, what a lovely young lady to visit our little police station," said the man lazily. "Let's go see the crazy man, shall we?"

He took her into a celled area, and her instincts began to scream as he pushed the older man back with a syrupy, "Only one guest per prisoner," and locked the door, trapping her in with him.

She smiled at him. All he had was a gun and she had fought Daleks. Then she deliberately turned her back on him and began to look in the cells. Most of the occupants perked right up and looked back, probably interested in seeing something besides the troglodyte Cooper the Copper, but one cell showed no activity. She ran to it and looked in.

There, bearded, quiet, sat her Rory, his hands folded, his eyes down, uncaring of the world around him.

"Rory Williams!" she shrieked, "It's me, Rory, it's your Amy."

Rory jerked as though he had been zapped with something electrical and looked up.

Before she could even smile, he was at the bars and so was she. Their lips touched and they grasped one another.

She heard his broken voice murmuring, "Amy," and the touch of his hands was everything in the world. His cracked lips were the sweetest taste in the world.

Finally, she came up for air. "I thought I'd lost you," he said.

"I thought I'd lost you too," she replied, then turned back to Cooper, "How can I get him out of jail?" she asked, "he'll be alright now, he knows I'm okay."

Cooper gave her a look that said bad things, "So you're his girlie?" he asked.

"She's my wife," said Rory, already sounding better, more like her Centurion.

Cooper swaggered over to her, "He destroyed a sacred monument, so he has to do time, but I could shave some off his sentence if you want to work it off,"

"And just how would I do that?" she said, angry now, knowing where he was leading.

He grabbed her and pulled her to him, "How about you do some wifely duties for me. Spend the night and you'll get your crazy back tomorrow?" He was so sure of himself, of his charm and power.

Amy smiled up at him and then pointed the gun she'd already slid from his holster.

"How's about you let him loose right now or I'll make sure you never force yourself on another woman?" she said, teeth clenched.

The blighter was suddenly back against the door, his arms raised, and a much better expression of mortal terror on his face.

The other prisoners started shouting

"Amy, don't, we don't have the Doctor now, we'll be fugitives," cried Rory, fear in his voice, not for him, never for him, but fear for her.

She grinned up at old Cooper, "Mr. Tallenger," she shouted, "This policeman has threatened me."

"Good lord," she heard from the other side of the door. "How can I help you?"

She pointed the gun, "Give me the keys," she commanded and he handed them over, "Aiding and abetting a prisoner escape, you little bitch, that will get you both hard time," he hissed.

"Shut up," she said and must have looked serious, because he did.

She threw the keys to Rory, and he rushed to find the right key and get out. Then they both pushed Cooper into the cell."

She unlocked the jail door and Mr. Tallenger stood there, wringing his hands and white faced.

"Oh Dear Lord, child, what can I do?" he begged and then collapsed.

"NO," she shrieked, no sweet old men were going to die on her watch, "Rory, he helped me find you."

But Rory was already there, check the pulse, straightening the older man and checking for breathing.

"His heart!" he muttered, and proceeded with CPR.

"Do you have a number for the hospital?" she yelled back to Cooper.

One of the prisoners yelled, "I cleaned there, the number is XXX-XXX"

So she called and explained she had a man down with a heart attack. Apparently they did have ambulances during this period. When they arrived with another police officer, she laid the gun on the ground.

"Sir, we need your help. The poor excuse for a law officer offered to shave time off my husband's sentence if I would dally with him. I have him locked up in the cell back there. Mr. Tallenger here's heart went wonkey. I don't want to break the law or hurt anyone, but I won't put up with abuse. Can you help us?"

The officer eyed her and Rory on the ground, tending to the old man, whose eyes suddenly opened. "Aspirin," Rory commanded, "It will help his heart."

"That's the angel killer?" the policeman asked. "When I saw him before, he was catatonic." The older man watched Rory a moment. "Well, ain't life a wonder."

He turned and walked to Amy and bent over to pick up the pistol. Inside the little cell area, they could hear Cooper yelling threats and demands to be let go while excited criminals yelled that Amy was telling the truth and they would all bear witness. (Amy hadn't paid much attention to them, but realized the background noise during her kissing Rory was enthusiastic cheering by the prisoners – Oh La, a fan club).

Amy wondered if they'd be put in jail and then worried again about Mr. Tallenger. "Rory? Will he be all right?" she asked.

"His vitals are improving by the minute," answered Rory, and he gave her one of his sweetest smiles, and then went back to his tending.

The ambulance attendants got the demanded aspirin, Mr. Tallenger seemed to perk up and Amy finally turned to the older officer, who hadn't released Cooper the Copper yet. Rory appeared to be satisfied with his nursing and now gave strict orders to the bemused attendants. Then he came up and took Amy's hand.

"I am sorry to be such trouble," he said solemnly, "and of course, you can put me back in custody, Sir. Just please don't put my wife in jail. She did nothing but protect herself."

The older man had a piercing gaze that seemed to run X-rays into Amy's brain and Rory's.

"I've had my suspicions about Cooper, but no one would come forward. I believe we'll keep him in custody. Meanwhile, whatever troubled you is gone, and you seem in your right mind. Does this happen much?"

"Never before, Sir," said Rory, "I thought, I thought she was gone," he finally whispered and looked at Amy with eyes that glowed with that special love.

Amy squeezed his hand.

"Will you give testimony against Cooper?"

Amy nodded, hoping this meant she wouldn't be away from Rory too long.

"You owe the church for destruction of that statue, but the local hospital needs help badly and you seem a dab hand at nursing the sick back to health. Do you have medical training?"

Rory nodded, "Yes, sir. I do."

"I'm the Head of the police department, Captain Stands. I was at the hospital visiting when I heard of trouble here. Cooper works for me. I am going to put you on probation. You work at the hospital, where they are in desperate need of competent help, and pay back for the statue. You check with me once a week to let me know that you are still working, and there won't be a mark on your record."

Amy's heart filled with joy. No years of waiting for Rory to get out of a jail. She rushed forward and hugged the old man, kissing his cheek enthusiastically. "Thank you," she sobbed.

They accompanied Mr. Tallenger in the ambulance, the attendants actually hung to the outside on railings with their feet on the bumpers. There the Captain Stands introduced them to the head of the Hospital, who indeed was interested in getting anyone with good medical experience (and a man to boot, Amy suspected, but would let it go in this instance. She didn't want Rory back in jail). The Hospital Head seemed impressed with Rory and hired him on the spot on Captain Stands' word.

They were together. They were stuck in New York during the depression, with no electronic gear, and no doctor ever again, but they were together. That was all that mattered.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Rory Pond had just gone through the most horrifying period of his life. It wasn't the 2,000 years he'd spent protecting his darling in the Panderica. It wasn't dying multiple times or being chased on a fairly regular basis by monsters. It was thinking he would never see his Amy again.

Realizing that the Angels had taken perfect revenge on him had thrown him into near catatonia. He hadn't cared what happened to him, he'd madly destroyed an angel in the graveyard where he'd landed and had ended up in jail, in deep shock. Never to see Amy, to be as lonely as that imprisoned older version of him that the angels had kept prisoner in time, that was hell. Her sweet voice as he'd sat there in the cell waiting for death had been like a burst of light in darkness and had woken him up completely. He felt ashamed for giving up. He knew better. He was the patient last Centurion.

He looked about him. He had his Amy back. The hospital administrator (Mr. XXXX) and the Police Chief had been impressed that he wasn't worried about a place to sleep for himself, but was very concerned that Amy have a place to rest. There were cots and rooms for doctors and nurses to rest in between shifts, and Amy was sleeping, safe.

"Well, Rory, old chum, you're alone with your wife, and you'll never see your daughter or the Doctor again. Here's your chance to make a difference and to do good in a world that doesn't have the same medical knowledge you have. And here is also a chance to take good care of my Amy." He spent relentless hours that night going over the hospital's situation, the treatments, the staff hours, the patient roster, the kitchens, the pharmacy, the whole place, from top to bottom until he had a good initial idea of its greatest needs and where he could help most. He felt no need to sleep – he had been awake for 2,000 years after all, and although he had never spoken of that time and told Amy he had forgotten it, he hadn't. He had in that period learned fighting techniques, healing techniques (including herbal remedies), languages, and well, he'd kept busy. He could do that again, but with higher aims now that they were stuck here.

As the morning sun came up, he got coffee and breakfast on a tray and took it to Amy.

She was in a tiny room, almost a closet with just a bed and a nightstand where interns and doctors would sleep between shifts. He lay the tray down on the nightstand and then just sat and looked at the love of his life.

Amy's flaming hair flowed over the pillow like a river of beauty and she looked like a real angel. Her pert little nose then wiggled, and he knew she smelled the coffee.

Those beautiful eyes opened, and Rory's heart swelled. She smiled at him.

"I bought you a bit to eat," he said, and found himself being kissed breathless by his wife.

"Oh Rory," she whispered, "I'm so glad I found you,"

"I'm so sorry we're stuck here," he whispered, and held her closely.

"Not your fault," she said.

Then he handed her the steaming cup of coffee, and enjoyed her sipping it.

He thought now about the Doctor. "Do you think he will be okay?" he asked. Sometimes the Doctor drove him mad, but he was a friend, a good and dear friend. Sometimes Rory loved him like a brother, sometimes he wanted to smack him and sometimes he felt jealous of him, but all the time he felt awe. Awe at the worlds the Doctor opened to them, and understanding, especially since the Pandorica, of what loneliness the Doctor lived with.

"He has our little girl with him," said Amy and her eyes filled with sudden tears. "I miss them both terribly, but they have each other, and Rory, I can't live without you."

Rory smiled at her. "We can write him letters you know."

"How?" she asked.

"We'll save them but we can send them to Cardiff or to Winston Churchill. They'll give them to him."

"Brilliant!" Amy crowed, "We'll tell him about our life."

Rory sat back. "You know, we might hear from them too. Its being in proximity that is bad, but letters wouldn't be a problem."

"How will he find us?" Amy asked, hope now shining in her eyes.

Rory tweaked her nose, "He's the Doctor; he'll find our life signs and know where we are. Then he'll find some way to send us a letter or two."

After he was sure Amy was properly fed, he sent her off to visit with Mr. Twillinger, and cheerfully went back to work. The hospital may have been clean by World War II standards, but not his and he intended to drag it into the twentieth century. He'd been instructed to familiarize himself with the facility, and would do it from every level.

Seeing the food stores, he realized why the pay he'd receive was a pittance. This was the Great Depression and the hospital often did its work for free and was paid off in produce which went to feed the patients. Antibiotics weren't in wide use yet, so tuberculosis was a danger, as was influenza. Polio was also something to consider. Rory closed his eyes. Malnutrition was epidemic. People were going hungry. He had survived two centuries in world where starvation was a fact of life and he saw the signs here, the weariness, the pinched cheeks.

One thing the Doctor had taught him was to do your best and to be the best person you could. Rory intended to do just that. He would build a life for the both of them and he would make a difference.

He knew, of course, that Amy was missing the Doctor and their darling River. He did too. Now he could only hope what he accomplished here would make them both proud.


	3. Chapter 3

Future Past - chapter 3

The Doctor sat alone for the moment. The sound of Rory and Amy talking was an echo in his heart. Never to see them, never to speak with them, never to touch their time line. He felt wetness on his cheeks and he agreed with his eyes; it was time to weep. He had sent River off to sleep, glad of her, terribly glad, thankful, even joyous, but Amy was gone, Amy and Rory, two sweet good people, with great glorious souls that sang through the darkness. People who had taken his life and filled it with gladness.

His phone rang. He sat up and went to it, sick at heart. He answered it, "Hello, this is the doctor,"

A well-known voice answered, "Doctor, this is Winston Churchill. We've received some packages for you from New York City."

"Packages, for me?" he asked, not really caring, the blackness of loneliness still blinding him.

"Yes, signed from Rory Williams-Ponds,"

"What?" he shrieked, waking up River way across the ship.

She ran in, hair attractively tousled, wearing raw silk pajamas, eyes that looked like she'd been doing some rather intense crying of her own.

"They sent Winston Churchill packages for us!" he shrieked while the Tardis rumbled joyfully.

"From whom?" she asked, in frightened tones

"From Rory, from your Da and Mum!" She shrieked and they grasped one another and did the dance of supreme joy.

"Letters!" she cried.

"Pictures!" he shrieked.

Never had the Tardis moved so quickly, never had he been quite so much like a small child at Christmas.

Hours later they both sat in an underground bunker during the blitz and read to each other, tears streaming down their faces.

"Rory's a physician now," whispered River, "Oh Doctor, my Daddy is a Doctor."

"He did more than that, Doctor Song, he started preventative medicine, he taught them about herbs, and invested his money in some company called Stark Industries, just their medical lines, and became a millionaire," the Doctor beamed. "He's found ways to feed people, taught people about nutrition; he worked on making the water systems clean, why my Father-in-law is a philanthropist. He did all this and practiced full time as a doctor."

"Mummy started a chain of restaurants that fed those in need, and extended years of credit to keep families well and fit. And she started a café in New York called Amy and Rory's Time Travelers Café," River threw her arms around the Doctor and wept like a baby.

They took out photos – Each in a different package for a different year with more letters.

And then the letters stopped abruptly. They went forward in time, but Churchill's office had no more letters. Churchill had a cryptic message for them. "If you don't know already, we can't tell you. You told us to say that."


	4. Chapter 4

Future Past - Chapter 4 - Did You Just Threaten My Wife

Dr. Rory Pond was considered a philanthropist, a genius and also a gentleman, but not a hero. He never seems to offer a shred of violence to anyone at the hospital. He had talked down madmen, spoken the native tongue of those who were afraid, and treated everyone with such kindness that the hospital on that side of NYC now had the reputation of a place to go to get well, and not just to die.

So when he knocked on the door of the Mafioso who was forcing girls into prostitution to discuss the matter of one of his nurse's little sister, Boss Man Ferretti made his last mistake. He threatened to take Mrs. Pond in place of the young girl.

Ferretti often boasted of his Italian heritage, and with the money he'd made during prohibition had put up a real display of museum pieces from the Roman era, including gladius swords, short daggers and other devices.

"So Doctor, why the hell should I send that girl to you? She makes me good money and I'll get years of service out of her. What can you offer in return? "

Doctor Pond remained silent and looked into Ferretti's eyes like he was some kind of a tough guy.

"I hear you have a little spit fire of a wife. We could trade. A real looker like that will make me thousands."

Pond's face turned to stone and he rose slowly to his feet and began to walk around the well appointed room. "You proud of your roots, Mr. Ferretti?" he asked in that whimsical voice that his patients loved.

"Yeah, I am, what about it?"

"I know about ancient Rome and the way they did things. Do you?" he asked in Italian.

Ferretti sneered.

Then the gentle doctor man grabbed both a gladius and a dagger up and put the dagger through the throat of the one body guard Ferretti thought was necessary.

"Did you just threaten my wife?" asked Doctor Pond in a voice now that held 2,000 years of ice.

Ferretti yelled for help and pulled a gun. As the doors burst open, he lost his gun and his hand. As his astonished body guards ran in they saw him lose his head. It was the last thing any of them ever saw, except the gleam of a well-kept, well-balanced gladius.

XXX

Later that evening, in the brothel where Karen Miller was forced to live as a prostitute, all the guards mysteriously disappeared. Then dear Doctor Pond came into her room and kicked her so-called customer out. "Karen, I'm here to take you home."

"Ferretti will kill us all," she said tearfully.

"He's dead and so are all his bodyguards and lieutenants. This is our chance. Are there any other unwilling girls here?"

When Doctor Pond came home with 15 terrified prostitutes, Karen and the other girls were sure that his wife would throw them out. They were tainted with the stain of sexual sin and good women didn't deal with the likes of them anymore.

Instead, Amy smiled at them all and made tea.

Men were cruel to them, but women more so. Many had tried to leave before Ferretti had taken over and then been forced by good women back into the life they hated with a passion.

This was a happy house, it was homey and rich at the same time, with good rugs and good furniture and all the things they'd like themselves if they had a life again. Even their most innocent member, Karen, sat frightened and overwhelmed.

Mrs. Pond brought in tea and smiled at them. "Why the frowns?" she asked.

"We're sorry we're here messing up your respectable home, Ma'am." said Mable, the most outspoken of them, and the one with marks on her back from her last drubbing.

"Looks fine to me," she said.

"If people know you had us here, they'll cut you off, Mrs. Pond."

"If people will cut me off for lending a helping hand, they aren't my friends," said the lady rather fiercely, her Scottish accent getting broader now that she was angry. "And I'm Amy to my friends," the lady said, "unless you don't want to be friends, please call me Amy."

"They'll want us back eventually. The person who killed them off will take over the territory."

"No they won't," said Doctor Pond, "because you'll all be gone to another state,"

Then he proved he was not only not "posh", but a close relative to Saint Nicholas, because he got them traveling clothes (a whole wardrobe for each of them), and arranged traveling money, their own body guards, and a place to live in California along with jobs working for a company he owned part of.

While the girls sat and cried and wondered at this new life rearing up before them, Karen got up and went to the next room to thank them privately. There she saw the good Doctor on his knees, his head in Amy's lap, weeping. "The Doctor will be so disappointed in my," he muttered, as Amy there there'd him and stroked his hair lovingly, "He'd have found a way to get them safe without killing, but me, I had to kill those men."

"They were threatening me, weren't they?" she asked.

He didn't meet her eyes, but nodded miserably, "Our Doctor has caused deaths before, love. He knows you did the best you could, and it's not like each one of them didn't have blood on their hands. You did it for Karen and for me."

In shock, Karen silently made her way to the rest of the girls.

"What's wrong?' asked Madge, who was waiting to find out Santa wasn't real.

"The mob didn't kill Ferretti's boys," she said softly, "Doctor Rory did. He killed them all to save me and to protect Mrs., Miss. - Amy."

"Lord God Almighty," said Rosie, "That gentle man killed them? How?"

"With a sword and a dagger," said Rory from the door. "It's my own fault really. I shouldn't have gone to his home alone. But then he threatened my Amy and it was easy to see that killing human beings meant nothing to them. I'm sorry. I just couldn't risk it."

Karen watched Madge's eyes fill with tears, as the older woman said softly, "You killed those awful men, those dangerous men to protect Karen and your wife and you're apologizing."

"Human life, actually all intelligent life, is precious," said Doctor Pond, "A very special friend of ours taught us that and he would have found a way to save them without shedding a drop,"

"That's not necessarily true, Rory, you know that," said a British voice in a regretful tone, and a young man appeared before them, bathed in a strange light, like a veritable angel from heaven.

The girls screamed, but Karen simply clutched Madge's hand.

"Doctor!" shrieked both their saviors.

Doctor Pond looked around frantically, "The time line, Doctor," he cried in fear

"Is in absolutely no danger because I'm not really here. Hologram don't you know, I just figured out how to send them through time and receive simultaneously without damaging the crack or anything else. And I can see I came in the nick of time, as it were, just when I'm needed. Here now, you two, you seem to be getting on swimmingly and I'm very proud of both of you."

"Couldn't have done it without your help, Doctor," said Amy, looking like a young girl, eyes filled with happy tears.

"Doctor Pond must be Rory," thought Karen excitedly, "I wonder if they talk to angels all the time".

"Tosh," said the Doctor, "enough of that, I miss you both more than words can say, so I whipped up this holographic time transmitter so I could check in from time to time and see what you were doing. Not the same as a hug, of course, but delightful to see you are both doing so well."

"Doctor I just slaughtered a Mafia Don," exclaimed Rory.

"I know, Rory, and because you did, these ladies have a chance at a new life. Time has changed just a bit for the better. They'll have lives and love and families to care for and will make little changes, all good, all based on kindness, because you did this. Its true, I hate to take lives, but I will, if I must. Especially to protect those I love. Sometimes even I can't help that**."**

Suddenly the angelic man was shoved out of the way and a lovely intelligent looking woman came to view and waved

"Daddy! Mummy! Its so good to see you. I've missed you both so much."

Doctor Rory's eyes lit up. Karen wondered why an angel that was older than them both was calling them her parents. Maybe all the babies that were lost had a chance to grow up in heaven.

"I helped with the holographic time transmitter," she said, "and you'll be getting a box soon, so you can call us too. We'll be years apart, of course, but we can talk as long as you want." This was said with such fondness that Karen's eyes filled with tears.

"Oh my little girl," said Amy and Doctor Rory took her in his arms.

"Is he taking good care of you?" he asked.

"I'm taking good care of him, as usual," was the rather terse reply. Amy and Doctor Rory burst out laughing.

The girls who weren't in a dead faint were watching all of this now with avid attention.

The young man slipped up behind the lovely lady, "And now I know that Amy is well protected. Oh, Rory, I couldn't be more pleased. We have to dash for the moment, you have your work to do and I'm getting a distress call from 2017, but soon we'll be able to chat, I miss you both so much," he said with a beatific smile.

He waved at them, the lovely lady waved too. Everyone waved back, even Madge and the girls. Then there was another flash and both the heavenly visitors disappeared.

Karen sat down and cried her eyes out. They couldn't be that bad if Angels were showing themselves. They'd said they were going to have good lives and make the world a kinder place. She swore then and there to be like Rory and Amy Pond and to always look for angels.


End file.
